Message-ID: <9603098290.AA829080786@gabriel.maf.org> Date: Tue, 9 Apr 1996 15:04:00 UTC From: Stephe Dean <mailto:Stephe_Dean@WVI.ORG> Subject: Re[2]: Appropriate Software Proposal To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L <mailto:DEVEL-L@AMERICAN.EDU>
Greetings All,
This discussion is overheating a little. I find myself recognising my
own feelings in both parts. I feel frustrated in my work here because
there is little "vision" amongst the people and parties that I am
working with. In this sense I am very sympathetic to Abu's plan.
National governments and regional bodies are not driving anything to
do with infrastructure or routing the "info superhighway" into Africa,
hence I see virtue in an individual or organisation planning on the
scale that Abu seems to be.
At the same time I agree with the Doctors assertions about "top down"
approaches and the record of UNDP and other grand plans in the
continent. The organisation that I work for is restructuring to deepen
its "rootedness" in the communities where it is doing development
work. Grass roots development is well documented as being better
"sustained" than external interventions.
Ironically I find myself trying to deliver a "quite modern"
information infrastructure to our "grass roots entities". I have held
forth in our internal forums saying that the model of development this
organisation is proposing is not viable without frequent - unspecified
- electronic communications to and from the project sites. The key
reason for this - and for that matter the rest of the info
infrastructure I refer to - is that we live with certain conditions
imposed by our donors and fund raising strategies.
One could then launch off into the argument that I am just part of
perpetuating a new version of colonialism which is wielded by donor
funds and managed by electronic communications. You would probably be
right.
In the mean time I see it this way. You have to have people on the
ground to install, maintain, train, use etc. You have to raise
expectations of target populations or you are just installing very
expensive paper weights. At the same time you have to have long term
plans. You can get into an chicken and egg situation where you raise
expectations but cannot deliver. Then you say "Well you raised the
wrong expectations." and I say, "I cant sell a multi thousand dollar
investment in support staff before I sell the benefits of the "system"
in question". Yes it has to do with education and consciousness
raising of people in power/control/status quo. Its a balancing act. I
am a systems specialist first and a marketer second. Probably need to
be the other way round.
Reality: Today I need warm bodies doing things on the ground -
delivering. I don't need a grand plan
Problem: We had better have a plan or we will end up getting rolled by
the transnationals and transnets again.
Thought: I am not convinced that Abu's plan is the right one. We
don't need a software model. We need a continental communications
strategy. We need a "political" approach that helps us to deliver
services as soon as possible without becoming ransomed to other
parties. (Apologies Abu if I have misread you.)
Thought: Dr Lisse - judging by his address - has his own POP. I
suspect he is not short of resources. Abu how would you go about
resourcing anything? Not a POP necessarily, but some aspect of your IS
infrastructure, in a way that fits in with your long term strategy.
Stephe
______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Re: Appropriate Software Proposal
Author: Dr Eberhard W Lisse <mailto:el@LISSE.NA> at internet
Date: 04/04/96 23:24
At 10:03 AM 4/4/96, Abubakr Alkhalifa wrote:
>Dear Stephe,
>
>I agree with you that "Appropriate Software for Development" can not be
>completely implemented at the time being. However, if we agree that it
>will be useful in the long-run, we can be engaged right now in the
>analysis, design, coding, and testing phases of developing these
>information systems (IS).
[...]
Maybe it's time to come back to Africa and have a reality check.
el
--
Dr. Eberhard W. Lisse \ / Swakopmund State Hospital
mailto:<el@lisse.NA> * | Resident Medical Officer
Private Bag 5004 \ / +264 64 461503 (pager) 461005 (home)
461004 (fax)
Swakopmund, Namibia ;____/ Zone/Domain Contact for the NA-DOM
Vice-Chairman, Board of Trustees, Namibian Internet Development Foundation,
an Association not for Gain. NAMIDEF is the Namibian Internet Service Provider.